


And Yet I Am So Far

by OfLaceAndGoggles



Category: Bandom, Deadmau5 (Musician), Electronic Dance Music RPF, From First to Last, The Academy Is...
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-08-18
Packaged: 2017-12-23 12:37:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/926507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfLaceAndGoggles/pseuds/OfLaceAndGoggles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by lovely arts from the even lovelier Arounagein on tumblr. Joelmau5, a brand-new toy robot hits the market and a very excited Sonny Moore is very excited when he happens to find one at Warped Tour.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Yet I Am So Far

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Arounagein on tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Arounagein+on+tumblr).



> I don't own mau5bot, or Sonny. The only thing I own is the situation I've created around a few certain works of art, made by Arounagein on tumblr. I have her permission to write fic for it, so I don't want to see pitchforks and torches.

“Get up, loser.” The always-irritable voice of my bandmate and best friend, Matt, assaulted my ears as things suddenly got very cold and very bright, all at once.  
“Asshole,” I mumbled back intelligently, rolling out of my bunk and looking for a clean shirt. I should have known better, there was never any semblance of clean clothing on a tour, much less Warped Tour.  
There was a snort and I looked up to see Matt watching me struggle.  
“Hurry up. We’ve got soundcheck in like an hour. I don’t need you making us late.” He stomped off, probably going to bullshit with Derek and whoever else was on the bus.  
Fifteen minutes and one extremely rare hot shower later, I hopped out of the tiny bathroom to find everyone crowded around our tiny tv, watching an ad for the newest, latest, greatest robot sensation, mau5bot. The contraption wandered around the soundstage, interacting with random people with his permanent smile.  
I almost heard Matt’s lip curl before I turned to actually see it.  
“Why the hell would anyone actually want one of those things? They probably want an assload of money for Mr. Pretend-Man, too. You watch.”  
Travis laughed from beside Matt, already clutching a Solo cup full of coffee. “Who spit in your oatmeal, Matt? It’s just a fucking toy.”  
I turned dutiful eyes back to the tiny screen, waiting for the canned announcer to reveal any sort of price point for the glorified toy. No figure was mentioned.  
“Yeah, well. I bet it’s way too expensive anyway,” he grumbled, stomping off the bus into the blazing heat. I decided to hang back with Derek and John for a bit, not wanting to be around Matt at that moment. Travis sighed, following him down the stairs.  
“Wonder what’s got him so pissy?” Derek mumbled, more to the room at large than anyone in particular.  
“Dunno, but it’s seriously beginning to wear on me, man. I wonder if someone peed in his bunk again...” John spoke up, standing and patting his jeans for a pack of smokes. “Bet it was that Wentz guy. He was over last night, wasn’t he?” He glanced at me curiously. Pete was _my_ friend, after all.  
“Yeah, he was here, but not really that shitfaced. I mean, he’s weird, but not that weird, y’know?” I shook drying hair out of my eyes, yawning.  
Derek stood too, heading over to the door. “Pfft. There’s a certain degree of... weirdness that you have to wonder... did Wentz invent weird?” He intoned philosophically as he and John walked out together.  
I had to stifle a laugh at that one, grabbing a hoodie lying on the back of the couch, not particularly caring who it belonged to. I bounded out the door and down the steps, running after John and Derek to catch up.  
  
I ran through a virtual cloud of sound as I finally caught up with Jono, hopping on his back with a screech. People were everywhere back there by all the buses and the vans, all just trying to stay cool or actually tuning up guitars or - _were those water balloons?_   I made a mental note to go back over there after soundcheck.  
“Hey, dude. Y’gonna get off me now?” Jono’s low voice startled me a little, bringing me back to the present. I hadn’t noticed my fingers digging into his thin shoulders in an effort to stay upright.  
“Oh, right. S-sorry, man.” I hopped off, stumbling a bit. We’d made it to the stage without me noticing. A tiny thing, hiding in the shadow of the Silverdome, looming nearby.  
“Alright, slowpokes. Let’s get this over with,” Matt growled, already leaning against one of the supports for the stage, playing with the microphone at stage left. I was already bolting up the stairs for the one at center stage. Thankfully, Matt didn’t really bother me while we were playing or practicing. I was already breathing slowly, getting ready to perform. I heard Jono and Derek moving behind me, finding their usual spots. One of our roadies gave us a nod from sidestage, and I could hear Derek pounding out the opening beats to World War Me, and I fought back a grin. I screamed half-heartedly into the mic, saving my voice for the real thing. I let my eyes drift closed as I felt more than heard everyone else join in behind me.  
  
Twenty sweaty minutes later, we all walked offstage. Travis and Matt headed off with Derek to go bug Fall Out Boy’s bus for smokes, and Jono and I decided to walk between the buses to see who was out today. I didn’t have to wonder long until a mop of untidy brown hair with hips walked by Jono, their arms nearly brushing.  
“Bill!” I called out, hoping the guy would hear me. We hadn’t formally met yet and sometimes I forgot to act normal when meeting people for the first time. First impressions be damned.  
William Beckett stopped abruptly, facing Jono and I again.  
“Oh, hello! You must be Sonny. And.. John, right? Hi.” A million-watt smile seemed to light up the area around us as he stuck out his hand for Jono to shake.  
“Yeah, hey. We’re playing on the same stage today, I think we’re right after you guys.” Jono grinned, shaking Bill’s hand.  
I skipped straight past the handshake thing and went for a hug around his pencil-thin middle. The dude was seriously tall. He was probably taller than Matt, even. And Matt towered over me.  
I heard a feminine giggle somewhere above me and William was hugging me back.  
“I can’t wait to hang with you guys later, you seem real awesome for sure,” he smiled, letting go of me and patting the top of my head playfully. I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. He politely excused himself and we made our way down the row of buses, stopping every so often to talk to whoever stopped us.  
We had just paused to talk to a roadie on The Used’s crew when something bright red caught my eye down the row. Something red... and quite large. I anxiously pulled on Jono’s shirt, wanting to see what was so big and red all the way over there. He steadfastly ignored me and continued to talk with the roadie. I huffed and let go of his shirt, starting down the dirt path by myself, pushing past people to get to the thing. Sweaty people rushed by me, leaving random pockets of open path that I shoved myself into, trying to get close enough to see what it was.  
I found myself standing near Simple Plan’s bus with a crowd of brightly-colored teenage girls, all clamoring to catch a glimpse of their beloved Pierre. I fought down the urge to gag and focused on the one thing out of place in the crowd, a tall guy wearing a huge red helmet with what looked like rounded ears on either side. A large gold winding key stuck out the back of the thing, giving the impression of a wind-up toy. I jostled one of the girls near me aside, trying to get a better look at the front of the helmet. She finally moved, allowing me to see two round, pure white eyes placed on the front of it. I chewed one of my lip rings absently, jumping when the head turned to look toward me. I mean, it looked like a normal guy in a grey shirt and jeans, but there was something off about him.  
The girl with the purple hair in front of me seemed to notice the guy looking at me and whirled around to stare at me.  
“You got a problem with my mau5bot, emo boy?”  
I bristled a little at the label but didn’t back down, still glancing at the guy. _mau5bot? Isn’t that what the ad on tv was about? Some kind of new toy?_ “N-no, I don’t have a problem with it. I was just looking. I’ve never seen one before.”  
She snorted, cracking her gum in the side of her mouth. “Well. You can’t have him. He’s my boyfriend.”  
I almost laughed at her, but then the mau5bot moved again, holding the girl’s hand with long fingers. He was much taller than her. I noticed there was a band-aid on the side of its red face, a slight scratch poking out from underneath it. I could swear I heard him sigh in a slightly mechanical voice.  
“B-boyfriend? That’s... weird. What’s the matter, can’t find any boys at school?” I don’t know where the jibe came from, it just flew out like a launched rubber band. I saw the realization and hate spread in her eyes.  
“That’s not it, you fuckin’ weirdo. My mom bought him for me in Canada. Some jerk broke him, so she got him for a steal. Why do you care?” She squeezed the robot’s shiny-looking fingers.  
“I’ll buy him off you. How much do you want for him?” My hand came up and hung in the air between us, as if I could have grabbed the words out of the air and stuffed them back down my throat.  
The robot’s gleaming head turned fully in my direction. I wondered what it was processing, behind those huge eyes.  
The girl flicked purple bangs out of her eyes, eye twitching as she spat out her offer at me.  
“Two fifty. My mom got him for one fifty, so.”  
I breathed slowly, considering. I yanked my wallet out of my jeans pocket, counting out a few wrinkly bills and dropping them in her sweaty hand.  
She whistled. “Thanks, emo dude. He’s all yours. And his name is Joel, by the way. Good luck fixing his voicebox.” She dropped the mau5bot’s hand as if she’d been burned, giving him a light shove in my direction. She disappeared into the crowd of Simple Plan fangirls, leaving Joel and I standing there staring at each other. His large head tilted to the side and I swear I heard him sigh again and he made a “go on, then” motion with his hand and I walked back down the row of buses, my new robot in tow. My only thought was _Wow, where is he gonna sleep? Or does he even sleep? Shit._


End file.
